Article by
Barbados Today

Published on
May 30, 2013

CHICAGO — President Barack Obama, whose agenda has been frustrated by Republicans in Washington, said yesterday he believed his party could reclaim control of the House of Representatives in the 2014 midterm elections but conceded it was an uphill struggle.
The party in power in the White House typically loses seats in the first midterm election after a presidential campaign, and many political analysts believe Democrats could lose seats in Congress in 2014.
But Obama, appearing at fundraisers for Democratic House candidates in his hometown of Chicago, said he believed 2014 could prove different.
“We’ve got a great chance to take back the House,” he told more than 100 people gathered at a cocktail reception in an ornate ballroom at the Chicago Hilton, where ticket prices ranged from $1,000 per person to $5,000 per couple.
Obama, who was reelected in 2012, told donors that he is willing to work with Republicans on issues like creating jobs through national infrastructure programmes, but said he has a hard time finding Republican lawmakers willing to compromise.
“We’ve got a politics that is stuck right now. And the reason it’s stuck is because people spend more time thinking about the next election than they do thinking about the next generation,” Obama said.
Obama said he is willing to work with Republicans, who currently control the House, but accused them of “obstructionism” and “an interest only in scoring political points or placating a base”.
It was the fifth time since April that Obama has travelled to raise money for Democrats running for Congress in 2014. (Reuters)